Report highlights 1.9% rise in global arms sales for 2021

Global arms sales rose by nearly 2% in 2021, the seventh consecutive year of increases, an international arms sales watchdog said yesterday.

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) added that the war in Ukraine has increased demand but the conflict may also lead to a supply challenge, not least because Russia is a major supplier of raw materials used in arms production.

That could hamper efforts in the United States and Europe to strengthen their armed forces and replenish stockpiles after sending billions of dollars’ worth of ammunition and other equipment to Ukraine, Sipri said.

“Increasing output takes time,” said senior researcher Diego Lopes da Silva, adding that if the supply chain disruptions continue “it may take several years for some of the main arms producers to meet the new demand created by the Ukraine war”.

Sipri noted some reports indicate Russian firms are increasing production due to the war but have struggled to get semiconductors and are also being affected by war-related sanctions.

Arms sales in 2021 rose up 1.9% to $592 billion (£481.3 billion), which was higher than the previous period but still below the average for the four years leading up to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Dr Lucie BeraudSudreau, head of the Sipri military expenditure and arms production programme, said: “We might have expected even greater growth in arms sales in 2021 without persistent supply chain issues.”

The institute compiled a list of the world’s 100 largest arms-producing and military services companies.

Although US companies dominate arms sales – 40 US firms are on that list with sales totalling $299bn (£243.1bn) in 2021 – the region was the only one to see a 0.9% drop in arms sales compared with 2020.

For 2021, 27 of the top 100 arms suppliers were headquartered in Europe and the region saw combined arms sales increase by 4.2% compared with 2020.